Korbin Kameron 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley

From time to time I’ve mentioned Underground Cellars in this blog. I’ve done it for good reason, it’s a fun way to score bargains on wine.

The way Underground Cellar works is pretty unique. They create offers, which you can purchase per bottle at a minimum price. For example, mine was called something like Unique Reds, and the bottles that could possibly be included are listed on the site.

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Here’s what’s different than most wine retail sites, you can buy as many bottles at the minimum price, but almost every other bottle is an upgrade. The minimum bottle price of the wine deal was $28. The other bottles I received were priced at $30, $33, $36, $60, $69, and $86. That’s quite a score.

The Korbin Kameron 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma Valley featured here was $60. The other wines in the shipment were two other Cabs, two Pinot Noir, one Grenache, and a Cab Franc.

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The system isn’t perfect. One 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon that was part of the shipment never arrived. After waiting for several weeks I contacted them and they agreed to send a 2008 bottle from a winery I really like. However, the bottle has “jumped the shark,” and was completely ruined.

The Korbin Kameron is a delightful Cabernet.  On the nose, there is earth and oak. For us, the beautiful part of the wine was a caramel tone to the midpalate. There are layers of sour cherry and leather. The tannins are smooth with a long finish.

The grapes are from Moonridge Vineyard and it has a not-overblown ABV of 13.8. This is a producer I will keep my eyes open for – and for Undergrounds Cellars deals as well!

Gris Rosé Turns My World Upside Down

Rosé made from Pinot Gris may prompt you to ask the question, “What Is rosé after all?”

The Nature Of Rosé

On certain things, I know it all, or as my wife reminds me, I think I know it all. Take rosé, for example. Any buffoon knows that rosé is made from red grapes left in short contact with the skins. Or so I thought.

I picked up a bottle of rosé for a recent Zoom session to celebrate International Rosé Day (not to be confused with National Rosé Day). I’m not John D. Rockefeller, so I didn’t want to blow a lot of money on a 40-minute Zoom session. After all, I had already invested in a bottle for National Rosé Day.

The bottle I selected was Band of Roses Rosé 2019, Washington State, by Charles Smith, a Washington State winemaker known for producing some rocking wines for very reasonable prices. In this case, it was $11.99.

As the online session began, each participant was asked to share a bit about their wine, including the grape used. As I checked the back of the bottle, I was a bit flummoxed. It said Pinot Gris, a white grape. The moderator of the session, the executive director of a distinguished international wine group, said, “That sounds like a nice wine, David, but I don’t know that I would consider it rosé.”

I reflected back on our recent visit to Smithfield Cellars in North Carolina. While there we tasted their rosé since it was blistering hot out. I looked at the bottle and it mentioned it was made with Pinot Gris. At the time I brushed it off as a typo on the label because everyone knew that rosé is only made with red grapes…

It turns out that Pinot Gris grapes are actually a reddish, copper color. With most rosé, the winemaker lets the red grapes sit in contact with the juice for only minutes to hours. With the Pinot Gris, the grapes are allowed to be in contact with the juice for three days or so.

In the case of the Band of Roses, the color is a beautiful copper, a contrast to the pink salmon colors of Provence rosé. The flavors were delicious, with tropical fruits, silky peach, and apricot. To me, it was a perfectly delightful rosé. In fact, it appears that Pinot Gris rosé is a trend. We recently tried a bottle of Gris Blanc Rosé by Gerard Bertrand, the well-known French winemaker.

Rosé, it’s not just for red grapes anymore!